July 26, 2008
Filed under: travel — juliana @ 4:43 pm
We visited United Kingdom in the Fall of 2003, and I must say that we enjoyed the week and a half of touring around. In fact, the amount of time we spent there was not really enough to immerse into the culture and take in the beauty that there is to have. I would have wanted to also explore the English West Country namely the counties of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Wiltshire. Based on my knowledge, the area is mainly rural with a few dots of cities. The idyllic lifestyle in this part of England would have been a welcome respite from the chaotic dash we have here in the Big Apple. It would have been fitting to experience that for a few days and stay in a rural holiday cottage in the West Country.
The breathtaking coastline of Cornwall, with its mild warm climate and not to forget the lively folk music tradition that the place is known for, could have made the trip more enriching. As they say, Cornwall is the land of mystery, myth and magnificent scenery. They boasts of their deserted coves and picturesque villages as well as their traditional pubs and those lovely and glorious gardens throughout. It would be lovely to stay a couple of days in one of those Cornwall holiday cottages. And while already in the region, Wiltshire should be one of the stops. I’ve heard of the lively market towns and the rolling open scenery there. Besides, they have a lot of stately homes, one of them the Longleat, known as one of the most beautiful stately homes that is open to the public. It is actually an Elizabethan property and it is the home to the 7th Marquess of Bath. And their magnificent gardens? I heard they are a site to behold! After a day of touring around, collapsing on the bed in one of those awesome Wiltshire holiday cottages would be a treat.
I’m in the mood right now and I’m just expressing my travel yearnings. In fact, the crazy me even checked out flight details at Expedia.com. Who knows “my boss” a.k.a. husband will agree to go on a side trip even on just one of the places I stated above. It won’t be far from where we’re intending to go for our next vacation, so there is a gleam of hope for an English West Country tour.
May 27, 2008
Filed under: travel — juliana @ 6:25 pm
Rome is one of the more favored destinations in Italy. Is this true or I’m just the only one who thinks this way? Sure, there’s many other places like Venice, Sicily, or Tuscany but the beauty and allure of Rome is unsurpassed.
If you’ve been a long time reader of my blogs, you very well know my passion for travel. In fact, my husband share the same passion. There’s just so many places to visit yet, there’s not much time. Rome remains to be a destination on the very top of our list. I can “predict” a visit to this place NOT FAR from now. That’s the reason why whenever I have time, I search and study significant places and tourist spots in Rome as well as check out accommodation options to see if we can avail of discount Rome hotel. VacationRentalRome.com is an excellent source of Rome hotel accommodations because they have an excellent database of hotels. I actually tried searching using their search function, and I was amazed to discover really affordable options. I am somehow apprehensive with the “perceived astronomical” cost of this vacation knowing how the US dollar is faring right now, but was I surprised! I am now confident that there is no way my husband is going to back off from our pact.
I am really getting excited as I am sure this trip will really come to fruition. Should I start saying “Italy here I come”?
May 6, 2008
Filed under: tags, travel — juliana @ 10:39 am
I was tagged by Rocks. So, I went ahead and found out how I score as far as seeing different areas in the Philippines. I can say that, I pretty much visited key areas in my birth country. There are places out there that I will never be able to see for security reasons, but if given the perfect chance I would be elated to step foot on those areas. It was fun plotting my answers. Thanks Rocks.
My Lakbayan grade is B!How much of the Philippines have you visited?
Find out at Lakbayan!Created by Eugene Villar.
April 30, 2008
Filed under: travel — juliana @ 1:40 am
After breaking my husband’s bank account one afternoon at Condado, Isla Verde (see previous post here), he pulled a surprise for me on our last night in Puerto Rico. I spotted this aqua bag (a Tiffany shopping bag) sitting on my night table, when I walked out of the bathroom into the bed area after taking a shower.
This was what’s inside:
I not only get to see a new place, I always shop till I want to stop and get a surprise gift when we go on vacation. Sometimes I feel guilty, but as my husband always says: “I deserve it”. Isn’t he sweet? He’s always been like this; indulgent of my whims and excesses, if you may say so.
April 29, 2008
Filed under: travel — juliana @ 8:05 pm
As always whenever we go away, our last breakfast is through room service. The night before, we always order our food and set the time of it’s delivery. That way, we take our breakfast leisurely and not have to go out of our hotel room. We ordered light, and it was indeed a wise choice.
This is Ritz-Carlton’s symbol. A symbol that will linger on our minds for a while, just like when we stayed at the Ritz in London in 2003.
Filed under: food, travel — juliana @ 7:45 pm
No, the title is not misspelled. That’s the name of this Cuban restaurant we went to, off Isla Verde Avenue. It’s walking distance from Ritz-Carlton which made it very convenient for us. We actually had two dinners at the same resto. The place has it’s own following as shown by the crowded dining area on both nights that we went there. The food was delicious, typical Cuban food. All the days of our stay, I can say that F really pigged out. And that’s probably the reason why he always made sure to hit the gym even for just an hour on days that were tight.
Here’s some more pics of the food. Sorry, I was just trigger happy. I hope you don’t mind.
Filed under: travel — juliana @ 5:34 pm
Now, bear with me a little longer as I just want to post these pics taken at the pool area at night and inside the hotel. You see, I warned you, you’ll get tired of looking at my face. Just give me a few more days, and I promise you won’t have picture overdose again till our next destination in a few months.
April 28, 2008
Filed under: food, travel — juliana @ 11:55 am
Eating Latin food is like eating Pinoy food. Every single dish I ordered during the duration of our stay didn’t taste foreign at all to me. My husband who has learned to love Filipino food because of my cooking, also enjoyed the food. Of course, we do get a taste of Latino food here in New York, as we have a lot of Latin restaurants here, but it’s different if it’s really prepared by authentic Latin cooks. Great food, plus live Latin music while dining was such an experience.
Filed under: travel — juliana @ 11:38 am
Right across the street from where the shopping area at Condado Isla Verde, is the plaza and the beach. As soon as we got off the car, the first thing that I noticed was the distinct fresh smell of salty water emanating from the ocean. It was such a refreshing feeling that you’d forget, just across that is a shopping area. The beach was not crowded at all. In fact, there was just a handful of people sunbathing. I wished I could have waited for the sunset here, but as I mentioned in my earlier entry, we thought it was going to rain that’s why after my hurried shopping spree, we headed back to the hotel.
April 27, 2008
Filed under: retail therapy, travel — juliana @ 11:32 pm
I had a ball going to this shopping area; and Frank’s pocket was really drained hahaha. I spent a lot of time at the last two stores I’m posting here (Louis Vuitton and Gucci). I could have spent the whole afternoon here when we went last Thursday if not for the cloudy condition and we were afraid we were going to get caught up in the rain. I felt bad that my shopping was interrupted because it didn’t rain after all. Sales tax in Puerto Rico is a little bit less than New York at 7%, so you can just imagine the happy camper in me. I went back to the hotel smiling ear to ear despite the interrupted shopping spree.
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